The Journey
by Geekycord
Summary: What if the space program was started not because kerbals wanted to explore space, but to meet the ones that left a message for them a long time ago? This will be following a video series with many OC's.
1. Chapter 1

This story is going to follow a video series I will be doing on youtube. I am making a few chapters to start with and then I will be following the gameplay of the series forming the story as I go along. I will have a video up by this weekend. Please read and review.

* * *

Kerbal space program, the history is long, but not very complicated. Starting out on the surface, they quickly moved under ground and started a very wealthy civilization with the whole world under one goverment. One day not that far ago, a certain Kerbal was working with his mates in a new mine shaft to expand living areas.

The crew of three was clearing some rubble out of the area when the head of the group saw something that was out of place. Gold. He only saw a small portion of it. He gave it a tap and found that it gave way... like paper.

"Bob, Bill, get over here, I found something." He called back as he started to pull rocks off of the object.

The other two came over and started helping him. A few hours later they had pulled the object out and were intrigued by... well everything about it. They loaded it into the back of the crawler they had. After taking it to many scientific research centers, there was only one last place any of them could think of. The surface.

The leader of the group had once been hired by a elderly man who had been experimenting with strange chemicals, but the project never got off the ground and he was let go. As an apology, the elderly man said to come back and visit if he had any trouble getting work under ground.

After getting a weeks vacation, the 3 borrowed the crawler and made there way to the barn in the middle of a field close to the ocean. After a nights drive they had made it and found that it was slightly run down.

The knocked on the barn door and a young man opened the door slightly.

"Excuse me, is Johan here?"

"Might I ask what you are doing here?" The young man asked.

"We brought something we found down in the mines, no one else would examen it, this was the only place we could think of that might."

The young man nodded and said he would be right back as he closed the door.

After a moments wait, the door opened back up and Johan was there with a cane and stubble covering his cheeks. He was getting old.

"Well long time no see Greg, bring some friends?" Johan said.

"Yeah, this is Bill and Bob, they are coworkers of mine. We all pulled the object out of the rubble. Thought you might like a look."

"What object?" Johan asked as he stepped out the door into the field followed by the young man.

"We don't have a clue as to what it is. That is why we brought it." Bill said, taking the elderly mans arm to help him along.

Bob ran ahead and brought the crawler closer to the group of men, then using the adjustable tracks he lowered the bed and dropped the ramp. Johan walked up and started going over the object.

The old man asked them to roll over the object a few times and then had them bring it inside to get a better inspection of it. Once inside Johan asked if they could wait outside.

After a few hours, Johan popped his head outside and saw that the guys were taking a nap, he asked if the young man could find his vinyl player. A few hours later he woke up everyone and brought them inside, standing around the table with a vinyl player and a gold disk he pulled off the device.

"Have a listen to this..." he said as he turned it on. After a few hours of hearing voices saying many different things in languages not under stood by the men standing around, one voice spoke out and was understood. 'Hello from the children of planet Earth.'


	2. Slow Panic

A/N: Boy do jobs suck sometimes. I have been working so much lately that I just spend my free time (What little I have) just trying to relax. I know I mentioned in a one or two of my other storys that I just do this in my spare time, and I really do enjoy doing this. Time is like gravity, "Ah gravity, thou are a heartless B****. Please Read and review. My grammar might be substandard, so consider yourself warned. Muhahaha.

A/N 2: The Journey will be hopping around to different times, I will be placing some sort of time frame into each chapter if I can.

* * *

Roemone Kerman was woken up by the COM alarm, letting him know that someone was contacting Terra station.

"Kill the alarm MAC, I am awake now. Who is calling us at this time?" Roemone asked

-The KSC sir, the new Kethane module is inbound now. Launched early to meet up with the station ahead of schedule.- MAC the first functioning assistant for the space program, he kept the station balanced and the lights running. His full name was Maybe Working Assistant Computer. But everyone called him Mac for short, he was programed to seem Kerbal so the crew could have someone to talk to if they wanted to keep it personal.

"Alright, let them know I am awake now. How long till visual contact?"

-3 hours, they wanted to wake you early so you could get situated.-

"Right, wake up the guys, let them know that their ride will be here soon. Now, if thats all, I am gonna get some coffee."

-Right.-

Roemone climbed out of his compartment and drifted to the 'kitchen' it was nothing special just what was needed to keep them comfortable in space around Kerbin. Getting the bag ready he tossed in a tea bag with coffee instead of the normal tea leafs. He hooked it up to the machine and hot water poured into the bag inflating it. After a few moments of waiting the 'guys drifted into the kitchen as well.

The 'guys' were Tom and Wendall. They had spent 3 weeks on the mun perfecting Kethane extraction. They had brought back 6000 units of Kethane and were waiting for their ride back to Kerbin. Roemone got two more bags of coffee brewing.

"Morning." Roemone greeted them.

Tom and Wendall nodded and floated over to a few chairs by a table with Velcro as the surface. Everything had Velcro on it, including the bags. After the bags were ready, Roemone put a cap on them and pushed the bags over to them.

"The others have a few hand written messages for home, they are in the pouch by the air lock to the extractor." He reminded them. They nodded again and started sipping there coffee, trying to remember how to be alive again for today.

Roemone took his coffee and drifted out of the kitchen and over to the command capsule. He decided to catch up on some television with the 2 hours he had thanks to the boys on the ground. MAC was not completely on the station, his main processing power was on the ground. If contact was lost, MAC could still perform his main duties, but would lack the capability of speech and personal conversations. The station had very little processing power of its own.

After 2 hours Roemone turned off his show and and downed the last of his coffee.

"Ready MAC?" He asked.

-Yes sir, everything is looking good.-

"Alright. Bring up the HUD. Are Tom and Wendall in place?"

The HUD came online showing station resources, crew, statistics, etc. -Yes, they are in the extractor.-

Roemone opened the stations in line com system to the rest of the crew helping with todays events "Lets run through this one last time. After the Kethane module is docked and powered up, the extractor will transfer its Kethane over and start the conversion process. Tom and Wendall will transfer to the return pod that the KSC has retro fitted onto the new module and will get to go home. The extractor we have now will be programed to crash down into the ocean after today. Next week a new extractor will be brought up and be fueled up be the Kethane from today. The craft nicknamed 'Space whale 1' will be fueled from Kethane that we convert as well from here on out."

After Roemone finished, the new module came into view. It seemed to be slowly approaching the station, even though it was traveling at 2210 meters per second. Space travel was still something new to the Kerbal race, they had only been traveling in space for about 30 years and were just starting to set a foot permanently in space. And this station was the foot, it was meant to see if it was possible.

After the module was about 150 meters out, there was a slight clunk heard through out the station.

A alarm went off. -Sir, the extractor just undocked.-

"Well get it back, what happened?" Roemone.

-Programing error with the new module coming in early. And the extractor can't make it back.-

Roemone looked at the station resources, the mono propellant was unchanged.

"They transferred over their monoprop."

-Right, and the only way to get them back is Eva the crew over or refuel it somehow. I was thinking the 'Space whale' it has plenty of monoprop.-

"Do it, meanwhile I will-"

MAC cut him off -Sir! The Kethane modules orbital maneuver staged just ejected and is retrograding back to Kerbin. Another error.-

"Damn it, we have people, very smart people on the ground to make sure this does not happen. What the McKracken?"

-Everyone was focused on the Jool Ion probe transfer.-

"Right... OK, does the module have any monoprop of its own?"

-40 units, but thats in the return pod, its not meant to push the whole module into docking.-

"Well it will have to. We can't move the whole station, its not stable enough." Roemone switched on the radio to the extractor. "Tom, change in plans, EVA over to the Kethane module and get into the return pod, link up the RCS and guide it into the docking port."

"Why cant the prob core do that?" He radioed back.

"Because it was on the orbital stage, along with the main Mono propellant."

"Oh... going EVA." Tom got off the radio and was seen moments later making the jump from the extractor to the incoming module.

"MAC, transfer the whales controls to my console and tell Wendall to keep the extractor pointed magnetic south."

-Roger-

The control was transferred and Roemone pulled up the docking camera on the whale. He pointed it north and translated to be directly in front of it, pushing the craft closer and closer until the magnetic pull of the docking ports pulled them together and locked into place.

-The KSC has said to go ahead and transfer all the monoprop over to the extractor, they had been discussing deorbiting it due to its RCS issues it has. This situation has forced them to give the go ahead.-

"Alright, move over all the fuel you can to the extractor and leave 50 units of liquid fuel and equivalent oxidizer. I just want it to have enough to deorbit, lets save all the fuel we can."

-Done.- MAC said after a few moments. At the same time Roemone felt the station sway a little and heard the thud and clank as the Kethan module docked up to the station.

"Tom works fast. Ill give him that. How much propellant did he have left?"

-1.24 units. Impressive.-

"Lets get the extractor back here and transfer the Kethane over." He said breathing a sigh of relief. The worst was over and he had managed to not break anything... this time.

After the extractor was docked and locked into place. Everything was secure.

"Alright, opening solar panels 1 and 2." Roemone said letting them know that it was time to start the conversion process.

-Starting conversion... Power drain at 154 units per second.-

"Open panels 3 through 7."

-Power levels holding, I suggest that the rest should be opened for charging the batteries. At the current levels, power loss on the dark side is possible.-

"Right-o, open 8, 10, 11, and 12. that should be enough."

After the Kethane was converted into liquid fuel and oxidizer, the station was put into diagnostics mode and made sure that nothing got messed up during the conversion.

"So how much fuel did we get out of 6000 units?" Roemone asked MAC.

-Just enough to fuel the lander for another round trip.-

"So thats why they are scrapping this extractor for a new model?"

-Seems that way.-

"... Open a line to the KSC assignment building, let them know that its not urgent."

-Open now. May I ask what you are doing?-

"Testing you would be one of the reasons, but I need to stretch my legs a bit. I am gonna try and go on the next extraction mission. I did not become a pilot to baby sit a station. I believe that you could handle it for a week or two, thats why you were made was it not?"

-Yes it was, I will put in a personal recommendation. My psychiatrist programs are recommending that you take a vacation, this might just be what you need."

Roemone stretched his arms out and up with a sigh. "Maybe so."

After talking to the assignment people, they agreed that perhaps a quick hop to minmus and back would be fine. The new extractor was going to be brought up by Jeb and Bill to the station, they would then take over keeping a Kerbal eye on the station, and to run a few tests. Roemone chose to have Bartmal come along, sharing the pod on the extractor.

Bartmal had volunteered for the station project, but had never really socialized with anyone else, using the empty crew compartment to keep an eye on the stations systems as he was the engineer. Roemone was in charge of the station and was interested in getting to know the crew better.

Who knew what it would lead to...


End file.
